


when it rains, it pours

by shchi



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, F/F, Female Frodo, Female Sam, Gift Fic, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sailing To Valinor, War of the Ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29702658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shchi/pseuds/shchi
Summary: Sam gets involved in Frodo's secret plans again, except this time there really wasn't a reason not to involve her.
Relationships: Female Frodo Baggins/Female Sam Gamgee, Frodo Baggins & Sam Gamgee, Frodo Baggins/Sam Gamgee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	when it rains, it pours

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beneaththethunders](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beneaththethunders/gifts).



> songs: (the first one is used, others i listened to when writing)  
> this is you throwing in the towel - slaves  
> soldier - fleurie  
> everything is lost - maggie eckford  
> wanna live - atom music audio
> 
> i finished return of the king and im in pieces, continuing to read the books is out of the question

_So put the crown around my head_

_So put the noose around my neck_

Many people had told Frodo that she must not fail on the quest to destroy the One Ring, that the fate of Middle-Earth rests on her shoulders -- which weren’t all that big since she was just a Hobbit -- so she has to trust that the Fellowship will get her there, by life or death, they will make sure Frodo makes it to Mount Doom. Getting into Mordor was difficult enough, even with the help of Sméagol. She was forever thankful for him being their guide, and she deeply regrets the betrayal of his trust at the forbidden pool, yet it was either that or let him get pierced with tens of arrows. She believes there is good -- Sméagol -- still inside there. She knows it. Deep down, Sméagol is there, before there was Gollum, there was a nicer hobbit, and he had been shown throughout their adventure, up until Frodo was forced to betray his trust -- their trust. She prevented Sam from hurting him in any way possible, yet Frodo rarely slept because there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her that Sméagol may just turn on them while they were resting, and take the One Ring for himself, like their first encounter. Admittedly, she was more scared for Sam’s life than the possibility that the Ring would be stolen and the quest failed. Not only would the Fellowship be let down, and all their efforts be for nothing, but it would mean that Gandalf’s sacrifice in Moria had been for nothing. Perhaps that was the thought that haunted her the most, she admired Gandalf almost as much as Bilbo. She wanted to share memories of an adventure like the two did, and to sit in Bag End under the hill smoking a pipe while reminiscing, catching up and laughing. She wishes to do that again, this quest has taken it’s toll, and it’s time for it to end.

Faramir believes that the current Ring-bearer could end up like the previous, yet he daren’t speak his mind. Perhaps it’s true, as Frodo claims the Ring for herself, unable to release it from her grasp into the fires of the volcano below, that’s the moment Sam realises her closest friend has been taken over by Sauron’s will, she stops encouraging her (and soon she was so desperate she was begging) to drop the Ring into the blazes below. The way Frodo sprinted into Mount Doom made Sam believe she would destroy it, but from the way she turned and looked at her, she knew the truth. She should have noticed sooner; from Frodo’s reaction when she ordered Sam to go home, or when she held back her anger when snatching her Ring back from Sam. If she doesn’t destroy it, Sauron will destroy them; a matter of minutes away from the looks of things. The moment she puts on the Ring, the eye of Sauron is upon them, and the Nazgûl begin their retreat from battle towards the volcano. 

She hadn’t wanted to believe this, that the Ring had been slowly corrupting Frodo throughout the journey to Mordor. The Dead Marshes, the Mirror of Galadriel, the Nine, Minas Morgul, Shelob; all things she wanted to believe were coincidence and not due to the Ring pulling her towards it. She had tried to let it go, yet the will was too strongly embedded into her mind, her very being, that she could not. Instead, she looks Sam in the eye as she declares it belongs to her, rips the chain off, and slips it on her index finger. Sam closes her eyes in an attempt to prevent the tears that have welled up from spilling down her cheeks.

  
  


_“You swore!” Frodo gasps as Sméagol chokes her, having jumped on them while Sam carried her up Mount Doom. “You swore on the precious! Sméagol promised!”_

_“Sméagol lied.” He tightens his grip on her throat, the pent up anger of the betrayal coming forward. Sam was right, in the end… no, maybe she wasn’t, and it was just what happened at the forbidden pool that reversed Sméagol’s mind. She trusted him. She believed he was good. And now she was paying for it. She doesn’t put up much of a fight, she was already too weak. It’s Sam, again, who saves her by throwing a rock at Sméagol’s head._

  
  


Mordor is the exact opposite of the Shire. It’s dark, deep and violent. It’s not a pleasant or inviting atmosphere at all. They left the Shire together, they will return together, and remain there. Sam has been so focused on attempting to listen to Frodo’s footsteps in case she decides to slip by, that she didn’t notice Gollum was present until a piece of rubble collides with the back of her head, knocking her down, not unconscious, but it will take a few seconds for her to come round, as implied by the ringing sound she can hear. Meanwhile, the deformed Hobbit races forward to the edge of the cliff, jumping on top of an invisible Frodo to take back the Ring. They wrestle, but it’s soon ended by a scream ringing out, and Gollum happily dancing and singing about his precious, as he discards Frodo’s finger into the fiery abyss below. Sam isn’t sure whether to go to Frodo or not, as she stares at Gollum as if to process what just happened. She wails in pain holding her wrist in her other hand as she looks at where the rest of her index finger should be, then she turns her head. No more than two seconds later does Frodo, and Sam could never have imagined she could become so infuriated, lunge for Gollum.

“What gives you the right?” she screams like someone has murdered her dear Bilbo right in front of her, as she tries to get the Ring back. If anything, she has a bigger reaction to that than her finger being bitten off. Gollum hisses as Frodo, and with no thought in her mind about her injury, she grabs Gollum’s arms, trying to seize the Ring. They’re too close to the edge, as they wrestle and scrabble nearer and nearer, prompting Sam to start making her way to them, but it’s too late. They’ve fallen. “Sméagol!” Frodo yells as she reaches out for him.

Sam then races to the edge and looks over as she cries out for Frodo. She’s both shocked and delighted to see Frodo gripping onto a jagged piece of rock that isn’t too far over. "Don't let go," she says and reaches her hand down, and she grabs it tightly with her injured hand.

“Don’t you let go,” Sam tells Frodo as she begins to pull her up, the blood making it all the more tense that Frodo could easily slip her hand out and fall into the abyss with Gollum, or that Sam’s could accidentally let her fall to her death due to a lack of grip. Yet, Sam knows she's considering just letting go. The Ring hasn't quite gone yet. Frodo looks down, at the fire, just in time to see Sméagol become engulfed by the flames, he smiles; although he doesn’t have time to place the Ring on his finger to be one with it, just holding it again is enough for him. He’s at peace, finally with his precious. She smiles, although she hadn’t realised it up until now due to the heat and the adrenaline pumping through her vessels, causing her sweat profoundly, she had been crying out of frustration due to the Ring being stolen, and now it’s gone. Forever.

It’s gone.

_Her_ ring is gone.

Sam pulls Frodo up, quickly and carefully, and they fall back onto the ground. 

She doesn’t feel anything. Maybe empty, maybe relieved. Sam must be relieved, that much she knows. There’s little time to rest before Sam pulls her up again, holding her hand as they begin to run out of the volcano before it erupts and the Dark Tower falls. They barely make it out in time, although they are now stranded on a large rock situated on the side of the volcano, as lava flows around them. She can see the Shire. “This is it,” she hears Sam say, prompting her to sit up and hug her. “There will be no return journey.”

Frodo says nothing, just rests her head on her shoulder as they contemplate what the sensation of bubbling lava will feel like on their flesh, as it eats into their bones. Sam gains her attention when she moves, "If this really is the end, then I think I'll forever kick myself if I don't do this." For a moment, Frodo is confused, wondering what she means, until she presses her lips against hers, and it's as if everything in the world is ok. Bearing the Ring had made her forget; forget about her feelings for Sam, as she returns the kiss for longer and harder. "I love you, Frodo Baggins."

"I love you too, Sam Gamgee."

They sit in silence, huddled together, before Frodo remembers their conversation prior. "Together,” she finally speaks, referring to there being no return journey, as she holds her hand.

“Together,” Sam smiles through her tears.

They wait, and Frodo is tempted to say how she should have let go of Sam’s hand if they were both going to die from lava anyway, but she doesn’t. It may ruin the moment. She keeps it to herself, and thinks it is the better choice, especially when the Eagles come.

* * *

_“You swore!” Frodo gasps as Gollum chokes her, having jumped on them while Sam carried her up Mount Doom. “You swore on the precious! You promised!”_

_“We lied.” He tightens his grip on her throat, the pent up anger of the betrayal coming forward. Frodo begins to defend herself with what little energy she has left, although the rush of adrenaline aides as she tries to pull his hands away, but his nails drag further and deeper into her neck as a result of every sharp tug she gives._

  
  
  


_Frodo calls out the name of her so-called guide for what has to be the tenth time by now, as she wanders deeper into the cave full of cobwebs. After running aimlessly out of panic, her fear heightens as a giant spider begins to hunt her down. Just seeing one leg made Frodo queasy, nevermind the rest of them, or the eyes, or the teeth. She tried not to look as she failed Sting around to try and break the cobwebs she was trapped in. She’s free, but the sword slipped out of her sweaty hands, and she doesn’t want to waste time going back to get it, as she runs out of the depths… into more darkness. Yet, she’s out of the cave, and away from that monster._

  
  


_And into another. Gollum. There’s a fight as Gollum tries to take the Ring after Frodo reveals she has to destroy it -- for both their sakes. The fight ends as Gollum loses his footing and falls into the darkness, seemingly gone forever._

  
  


_Frodo continues, slowly, but she is making some progress. She pauses as she grips the wall, now feeling weaker and weaker._

**_To bear a ring of power is to be alone._ **

  
  


**_Even the smallest person can change the course of the future._ **

  
  


_By the time Frodo comes back to herself, she senses something._

  
  


**_One does not simply walk into Mordor._ **

  
  


**_You carry the fate of us all, little one._ **

  
  


_The anxiety creeps up the back of her neck as she turns her head so sharply it cracks. Nothing on the right, nor the left. Not even behind her, except when she turns to face forward again, her chest is pierced once more, except it’s not by a Wraith, but a spider, that proceeds to bear it’s fangs once more, and chase the hobbit._

  
  


Frodo screams. Unknown to her, she had been thrashing and begging in her sleep. Yet, at the same time, she is fully aware. Another attempt to rest, another nightmare. Sam has reluctantly stopped (at Frodo’s request) waking her up. There’s no point, and she prefers to let the nightmare take it’s course, even if it’s similar every night. Sometimes she gets killed or jolts awake just before the killing; either by Gollum, that damned spider, the octopus, a Ring-Wraith, or falling into the Crack of Doom. If she wakes up, she will probably have to go back to sleep, and endure it again. Other than sleeping, she finds that writing her story -- _the Lord of the Rings_ \-- that continues the journey of Bilbo, to be a good pass time. She hopes that if she completes it, the nightmares will stop. Perhaps they are night terrors, or something of the sort. She’s certain of one thing; the time her mind was awake but her body was not, and the events she witnessed really seemed _real._ Sam told her it was just her mind, and she should try and not think about it. If she took a nap in the day time after not sleeping through the night, she would end up helping Sam in the garden instead.

It wasn’t that easy, or it wouldn’t be an issue: the mental suffering was one thing, but every so often the scar from the Nazgûl would feel as if she has been stabbed again, as well as the wound from Shelob making her sick. It was why she needed to leave the Shire. Gandalf has offered her something that she simply can’t refuse.

And she plans to go alone.

* * *

They are riding in a carriage with Bilbo, his head on Frodo’s shoulder. “Do you have the ring? I would like to see it one last time,” he asks before Frodo searches through her pocket to give him a replica ring.

“Here, Uncle. I hope I kept it in good shape after all these years.” She didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth, she was worried of his reaction because she never did see if the actual one affected him as much as it did her.

As they arrive at the docks, she helps Bilbo out of the carriage, holding his arm as they walk towards Gandalf. He helps him onto the boat, before looking at Frodo as if he is waiting for her. Pippin is the first to realise it, and he almost crushes Frodo in his hug, followed by Merry, and finally Sam.

“You don’t have to do everything alone,” Sam’s voice breaks. “If you are to leave the Shire again, then I’m coming with you.”

“Of course, Sam,” she smiles. It wasn’t like she could leave her. Not now. Perhaps she just wanted to surprise her, not that Sam really needed any more surprises from Frodo. She’s had enough for a lifetime by now.

Frodo never really settled upon returning to the Shire, unlike Sam. Not even married life could help. This is the only way, and deep down, she knows Sam knew she was different, that the Ring took such a burden on her, she felt the need to go to Valinor.

Frodo takes her hand as they walk onto the boat, as she smiles genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever.

“I’ve missed that,” Sam comments. 

It takes a few seconds for Frodo to realise what she meant; upon doing so, she laughs before kissing her. “This is going to be the rest of our life, because there’s still more to write in the book.”


End file.
